Thursday, April 18, 2013

Motion for a living wage for UM contract employees passes Academic Senate

Yesterday, April 17th, the Academic Senate passed the following resolution, with no votes against, and only one abstention:

WHEREAS workers employed on campus as food service workers by Chartwells make on average only $9.50 per hour while workers employed on campus as janitors and groundskeepers by UNICCO make on average $11.55 per hour;

WHEREAS Miami‐Dade county considers a living wage to be $12.06 per hour;

WHEREAS the University of Miami is one of the largest private employers, if not the largest, in Miami‐Dade county;

BE IT RESOLVED that the Faculty Senate urges the administration a) to affirm the importance of ensuring that all workers on campus are paid a living wage, as defined by the county; and b) to support a fair and fast resolution to workers’ efforts to improve their wages and working conditions.

This, of course, does not guarantee that the university will follow the resolution, but we certainly hope it will listen to the voice of the faculty!